How Many People Are Named Lillian Gish?
There are approximately 2 people named Lillian Gish living in the United States today. That makes this name combination very rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 171,377,169 Americans.
This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name Lillian with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Gish. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and Census background data where it is available.
Estimated People with This Name
2
1 in 171,377,169 Americans
Combination Rarity
Very Rare
First Name
View full profileLillian
Last Name
View full profileGish
Lillian: Popularity Over Time
Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name Lillian. The peak year was 1920 with 10,075 births. The average person named Lillian today is 29 years old.
Ancestry of the First Name Lillian
In the 2020 Census, the first name Lillian was most commonly recorded among people who identified as White (71.66%). The next largest recorded groups were Hispanic (11.81%) and Black (8.04%).
These percentages describe the people who had the first name Lillian in the 2020 Census. They do not tell you the deeper origin or meaning of the name itself.
Read this as a snapshot of who already had the name in 2020, not as a trend line. The SSA chart above is still the better way to see how Lillian rose or fell over time.
Ancestry of the Gish Surname
The surname Gish was most commonly recorded among people who identified as White in the 2020 Census.
This is a self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people who had the surname Gish in the published Census surname tables. It gives useful context around who was recorded with the name, but it does not tell the full family history of every Boone line.
How we calculated this
The first name "Lillian" has an estimated frequency of 0.0564% among living Americans, based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024 adjusted for mortality using CDC 2023 life tables.
The surname "Gish" appears at a rate of 1.21 per 100,000 people in the 2020 U.S. Census.
We do not use the Census first-name snapshot for the main estimate because it is only published once every 10 years. The latest public first-name Census file is from 2020, which is already 6 years old. SSA birth records plus CDC survival data give a better current estimate of how many people with the first name Lillian are likely to be alive now.
Multiplying these frequencies against the U.S. population of ~343 million gives 2 estimated people. This assumes first names and last names are statistically independent. Full methodology.
Other people named Lillian
Other people with the surname Gish
Lillian Gish: Questions and Answers
How many people are named Lillian Gish?
We estimate approximately 2 people named Lillian Gish are alive in the United States today. The first name Lillian is shared by 193,349 Americans, and the surname Gish is shared by 4,148.
How rare is the name Lillian Gish?
This name combination is classified as Very Rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 171,377,169 Americans. The first name Lillian is common and the surname Gish is rare.
Is Lillian a male or female name?
Lillian is predominantly female, with 0.3% of bearers being male and 99.7% female. It peaked in popularity in 1920 and the average bearer today is 29 years old.
What does the Census say about the first name Lillian?
In the 2020 Census, the first name Lillian was most commonly recorded among people who identified as White (71.66%). The next largest recorded groups were Hispanic (11.81%) and Black (8.04%). These percentages describe the people who had the name in the 2020 Census, not the deeper origin of the name itself.
Where does this data come from?
First name data comes from the Social Security Administration (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables. When available, first-name Census background data comes from the 2020 U.S. Census Bureau first-name tables. Surname data comes from the 2020 U.S. Census Bureau. Full methodology.
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